Removing The Cobwebs

Although the intention is always there, I just cannot seem to get back into the swing of regularly blogging.  It's definitely something that I want to be better about, but other things just always seem to get in the way.  But perhaps I just need to accept that that's how things may be for a while around here, stop apologizing for it, and say hey- something's better than nothing.  Right?  So here's a little mish-mash catch up of sorts.  Thanks to those of you who have stuck around despite my silence!

~A beautiful Houston sunset that I caught on my walk home from the gym a while back.  One thing that I loved about living in small town Australia was that the skies always seemed so much more beautiful than anyplace I had ever lived (I wrote about them in a post HERE).  I don't know what it was, but they always seemed bluer, clearer, had the puffiest, whitest clouds, and some of the most breath-taking sunsets I have ever seen.  This Houston sunset almost reminded me of one of those gorgeous Aussie sunsets that I miss so much. 

~A teacher reunion with some of my favorite former co-workers.  You can tell by our clothes how long ago this happy hour actually took place, but whatever.  I miss these ladies, and it was so fun to catch up!

~A funny bookshelf.  I was cleaning and reorganizing a little bit a while ago, and I noticed something funny about this particular book shelf.  Can you guess which one of these books belongs to my husband?  If you know David, you will get a pretty good laugh out of this one. 

~An Aussie care package.  Two of my closest girlfriends that I met in Australia were sweet enough to send me this fun Aussie care package.  Thanks, Jackie and Katie!!

~A visit with some of my former students.  I spent a couple hours one day visiting my old school and some of my former students.  These are two of my favorites (yep, teachers absolutely have favorites).  I couldn't believe how much they had grown! 

~Office View.  This is my view from the office (it's a office run out of someone's home if you can't tell).  I love March/April in Houston because the azaleas bloom like CRAZY.  I had actually never seen white azaleas, so I was loving these ones.  I tried to grow azaleas at our old house in Houston, and I never had any luck (#blackthumb).  They're so pretty though, and so "Houston" to me. 

~A perfect Friday evening.  A while back, I picked David up from work on a Friday and we had the perfect evening.  We started with a couple glasses of wine at a neighborhood bar (the weather was perfect that night so we took advantage and sat outside), then we headed to my new favorite Houston restaurant- Hugo's.  You guys.  If you live in or around Houston, or ever visit, you MUST go here.  I can't believe we only discovered it a couple months ago.  It is some of, no THE best Mexican food I have ever had- super authentic.  Oh, and the best margarita of my life.  I was too busy chowing down and guzzling margaritas to take any pictures though. 

~Hard-working hubby.  Poor David has just been swamped at work lately.  We were talking the other night and honestly, we aren't really sure that the 13 hour work days/6 day work weeks he had to work in Australia were any worse than the current situation.  Sigh... He has been working just about every Saturday, and during the week usually not getting home until between 8 and 9.  A couple times it has even been 10:30.  One Saturday, I walked down to his office (literally like 3 blocks from our apartment) to bring him lunch, and I saw this duck guarding the entrance.  I thought it was pretty funny.  He seriously wasn't budging for anyone trying to get in/out.  And this text message shows you a little bit what life/work has been like lately.  I usually text him each afternoon/early evening to get his ETA.  And just about everytime, the answer gets later as the evening goes on.  Poor guy...

~Texas BBQ!  I can't believe it took us this long, but we finally made it to our favorite Houston BBQ spot- Luling City Market.  There's nothing like eating straight off of butcher paper and piling a ton of meat onto good ol' white bread.  Yum!  Don't worry, I did not eat all that meat in front of me- we shared that AND took home leftovers. 

~Shaking my head at Texas.  I love living in Houston.  And most of the time I forget I actually live in Texas.  Until I drive by things like this on the side of the road.... really?...

~Random Houston statues.  There is a random outdoor statue museum/field... I don't know what to call it... in Houston.  It's filled with these giant sculptures of the Beatles and about a million presidential heads.  So random, but pretty neat.  Not too far from that... display... is the "We Love Houston" sign that I've been meaning to see for years, but never made it there until now. 

 

~Bubba's Burger Shack.  This is another favorite Houston restaurant of ours.  It is a total dive, and as you can tell from the pictures, it is literally a SHACK.  And even better, it is situated basically underneath a freeway overpass... this little shack has been there so long that they basically built the overpass around it.  But oh my god, they have the BEST buffalo burgers ever.  So good!  I had the buffalo patty melt, and David had the double burger.  Nom nom nom! 

 

~A little Aussie reunion.  A few weeks ago, I met up with two girls that I met in Australia who now live in the Houston area.  Kim had just had her second baby boy, so Lori and I drove out to meet the new little guy.  It was a fun day and some much needed girl time.  It's so funny to me that I had to go all the way to Australia to finally meet some Houston friends :-)  I'm hoping that eventually even more of the girls I met there will get moved to Houston, too!  Please note, none of these adorable children are mine. 

~Crazy Houston weather.  A few weekends ago, Houston had one of its famous rain storms.  These things seriously seem to come out of nowhere, and they are no joke- flooding is usually involved.  This photo is a major street in Houston (Richmond Ave, if you're familiar), and it was completely flooded.  Don't worry, about 3 hours later, the sun was shining and the sky was blue.  Houston is weird. 


~Bear.  We went to Austin for Father's Day weekend to visit David's parents.  This is their dog, Bear.  I have a love/hate relationship with this dog.  You see, Bear used to be my sister-in-law's dog.  She and I used to be roommates in Los Angeles (that's how I met David).  Renee used to be out of town a lot, and so I ended up being the one to take care of Bear.  He would get mad when she would leave, and unfortunately, he would take that out on me.  TWICE this dog peed on my bed in retaliation.  I still haven't forgiven him. 

Alright, I think that's enough from me for now.  Hopefully it won't be another month before I'm back again! :-) 

A Rodeo Recap - Mutton Bustin' & Usher

Two months isn't too late for a recap, right?  RIGHT?!...

Maybe just don't answer that question.  Because either way, I'm about to recap my trip to the Houston Rodeo which happened back in March.  But really, compared to the rest of the recaps I need to catch up on, 2 months is nothing.  So here goes...

The Houston Rodeo is probably one of my most favorite things to do in Houston.  I've been to the rodeo every year since David and I started dating long distance, and I was sad to have to miss it for the first time while we were in Australia.  So this was my first rodeo since being back, and I was SO excited to go! 

For those of you who aren't familiar with The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, it's basically one of the most amazing and totally ridiculous things you'll ever experience.  It lasts for nearly the whole month of March in Houston, and it's a pretty darn big deal.  It includes lots of livestock/farming things I know very little about, a huge fair grounds with lots of rides and fried everything, cowboys, bull riding, and a concert each night.  I'm always impressed with the level of performers that the rodeo tends to pull- there are always pretty great shows to choose from.  I've seen everyone from John Legend to Rascal Flatts to Tim McGraw to Train.  David can get rodeo/concert tickets through work, and this year we scored tickets to Usher! 

A couple weeks before the show, my cousin Lee Anne found out that she would be in town for work, and David very readily gave up his Usher ticket so that he could avoid hearing my squeals she and I could go together.  I was so excited to finally take one of my out of town friends to the rodeo.  It is such a true Texas experience! 

We started our night off right with some yummy Texas BBQ on the fairgrounds, then we headed to our seats while I gave her a quick overview about what she was about to see.  Before the concert, you get to see all kinds of rodeo events- barrel racing, bull riding, etc.  But my two most favorite (and totally ridiculous) events are the calf scramble and mutton bustin'.  When I explained these events to her before she actually got to experience them herself, I think she didn't really believe me, because it truly just sounds absolutely absurd.  But here's a quick run down for you if you are unfamiliar.  Of course, I will follow it with some photographic evidence so you can see it with your own two eyes.

Calf Scramble.  Basically a group of about 50 FFA (or 4H, I truly don't know the difference) teenagers stand in the middle of the field? stage? (whatever you call it), and about 30-40 calves are released into the field.  The kids then scramble to chase these calves around and catch one with a rope and guide the stubborn thing back into the square painted on the ground in the middle.  If they get it to that point, they get to keep it and raise it.  Which is supposedly a pretty good prize?  It's basically chaos.  And hilarious.

And they're off!

Notice the calf on the right basically dragging the kid behind him

Mutton Bustin.'  OK, now this... THIS is probably one of the most spectacular things I have ever seen.  So essentially, they take little kids (I think 3-5 years old), put them on the back of a sheep/mutton, tell them to hold on for dear life, and then let the sheep run like a bat out of hell and see how long the kid can hang on.  Yes.  This is real life.  And despite how crazy/possibly horrible it sounds, if you see it for yourself, you will realize how seriously awesome this sporting event is.  People do all kinds of sucking up/donating for years to get the opportunity to for their small child to bust some muttons.  Seriously. 

Finally it was time for Usher to perform.  To put it simply- he was amazing!  He is the best dancer ever.  We squealed a lot.  He played an amazing set (lots of "old school Usher" from our college days like "Burn, " "OMG," and "Yeah").  And our Usher crushes were renewed with a vengeance.  See for yourself:

I LOVE this photo with the cowboy hat silhouettes

Thanks for visiting, Lee Anne!  I'll let you know when next year's rodeo line up us released :-) 

Austin Weekend

Aside from running ten miles last weekend, I also managed to have some fun while in Austin for the weekend.  David and I drove over on Friday afternoon.  This is usually a great time of year to go for a drive outside of Houston and Austin, because it's bluebonnet season (Texas' state flower).  The bluebonnets didn't disappoint- they (and more Indian Paintbrush than I remember seeing in previous years) were everywhere! But unfortunately, we didn't have time to stop for the mandatory photo in bluebonnet fields. 

A photo from the car was the best I got this year

Since I didn't get a bluebonnet photo this year, here's one from a few years ago. 

That evening we met up with one of David's college friends and his wife for dinner in downtown Austin.  Then we had some drinks at a few bars while we killed time waiting to pick up David's sister at the airport at 1AM.  We stumbled upon a cute outdoor/patio bar that had a really great live band. 

After picking up our race packets on Saturday afternoon, we rented water bikes on Lake Austin.  It was a beautiful day to be out on the lake.  And although I was a little skeptical, the water bikes were really fun- and super easy to maneuver.  They even guarantee they won't tip over- which sold me, since I was definitely not in appropriate clothes for being on the water. 

After water biking, I insisted that we get ice cream at Lick Ice Cream- I had heard about it from an Austin blogger, and I'd been dying to try their crazy ice cream flavors.  Lick didn't disappoint- if you are ever in Austin, you must try it!  It's a really cute little shop with very friendly staff and locally farmed ingredients.  The best part is their flavor choices- they're like nothing you'd ever expect to have in ice cream, but they are DELICIOUS. 

 

These are only about half of the flavors

 

 


My choices: Goat Cheese,Thyme, and Honey & Dark Chocolate, Olive Oil, and Sea Salt - AMAZING!!

 

This place is incredible... and I'm really not even that big of an ice cream person.  The next day during the race, at about mile 7, I decided that we would definitely be stopping by here again for more ice cream on our way out of town.  You know, to undo all the calorie burning I had just spent two hours doing.  WORTH IT!  This time I got a scoop of Cilantro Lime and a scoop of Coconut Avocado Curd.  I was skeptical of these flavors, but I liked them both- especially the cilantro lime!  Oh, and for any of you out there who live in Texas, they are now selling some of their flavors in pints at Central Market.  And I think cilantro lime is one of the ones being sold there now.  GET YOURSELF SOME.  You can thank me later. 

 

So that was about it for our short Austin weekend.  We drove back in rain, so we didn't get another opportunity for bluebonnet photos.  Oh well, there's always next year!  



Austin 1020

On Sunday I ran in the Austin 1020, which is a 10 mile race with 20 bands along the way.  My sister-in-law, Renee convinced me to run it with her in celebration of our 30th birthdays.  I had been training for this race for just under a month, so I was pretty nervous about it.  In my training, the furthest distance I had run was 8 miles.  And I did that only ONCE. So thinking about having to run 10 miles had me pretty nervous. 

We arrived at the start line bright and early and prepared to run with about five thousand other runners.  It was a really cloudy day, and looked like rain the whole time, but luckily it did not, and the clouds kept things cool. 

The race turned out to be really fun!  The bands were a nice distraction, and the atmosphere was really upbeat and laid-back.  It was also really nice to run alongside Renee the whole time, even though I told her on several occasions she could totally go ahead, since I am 100% sure I was slowing her down.  But she was nice enough/sympathetic enough to stick with me.  My favorite mile was mile 6 when they handed out iced wash cloths.  At that moment it was the best thing I'd ever experienced.  My least favorite miles were miles 9-10... since those were distances I had never run before.  During those miles, I started getting really overly dramatic and thinking things like, "Oh my God, I don't even remember what my life was like before I started running this race!"  I wanted to stop so badly, but what I wanted even more badly was to just be finished, and at that point I knew the only way to finish faster was to keep running.  I was hurting though!  Sidenote- I realize I sound pretty negative, I just unfortunately am not one of those people that enjoys running immensely, gets the "runner's high," etc.  I did have fun though- promise!

David met us at the finish line, and we spent some time stuffing our faces with the post-race food, drinking our free beers, and listening to the final band (Puddle of Mud).  Apparently we ran straight back into the early 2000's?...

Just after we crossed the finish line- hands already full of food.

 

Finishers!!

I'm proud of myself mostly just for signing up in the first place, but also for going through with it and finishing at all!  But I'm also proud that I met my two other goals: 1.) Do not stop running the entire time and 2.) Finish under two hours.  I think my final time was around 1:45.  So I'm pretty excited about that!  What I'm even more excited about though, is that I get to stop running now :-) 

Chopped

I've pretty much always had my hair shoulder length or longer.  The summer before my senior year of college, I cut it to my collar bone, and that was the shortest my hair has ever been.  For me, long hair is just easier.  I know long hair takes longer to wash, dry, curl, etc., but I don't have the patience for those activities anyways.  Five to six days a week, my hair is in a ponytail, braid, or some other quick up-do.  Because of that, long hair was always just easier for me. 

Before we moved to Australia I was kind of getting to the point of being sick of my long hair.  I considered cutting it short at that time, but I figured such a decision shouldn't be made in the midst of a stressful move.  I had also always wanted to donate my hair at some point in my life, just had never been brave enough to a.) grow it long enough that it wouldn't have to be super short after the cut and b.) pull the trigger.  So I put it off once again.  Well, like most things in Gladstone, finding a pace to get a good haircut was a challenge.  I went for a 2-3 inch trim a couple months into our move, and the girl literally parted my hair down the middle, divided my hair with half over each shoulder, and then simply trimmed those two sections.  Done and done... $75 dollars later.  After realizing that I could have very easily just had David give me the same exact haircut, I decided to save my money and finally grow my hair out nice and long so that I could donate it when we went home for Christmas. 



When I saw this photo, I KNEW the hair had to go- OUTOFCONTROL. 
Photo by Katie Miller Photography

Fast forward to the weekend after Christmas, and I was SO ready to chop my mane.  It was seriously out of control long... even giving me headaches sometimes.  Totally unnecessary.  My favorite hair stylist in Phoenix excitedly agreed to cut it for me, so off I went.  She kept asking me if I was nervous, but I really wasn't at all. 

BEFORE

She divided my hair into four ponytails and chopped away.  Easy as that!  And truly, it didn't end up looking as short as I thought it would.  We thought she had cut about 8-10 inches, but when I got home and measured it more carefully, it was actually a good TWELVE inches- a FOOT! 

Right after the big cut!

AFTER



AFTER - I still have yet to replicate this style

Totally creepy



I went back and forth when deciding where to donate my hair - Locks of Love or Pantene Beautiful Lengths.  I ended up going with Pantene Beautiful Lengths, because I liked the idea that they focus on wigs for adult women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments.  I got the impression that Locks of Love gets more publicity, so I figured I'd give my hair to the place that probably "needed it more-" although they are both worthy causes/organizations.  You can see the story of a Pantene Beautiful Lengths donator below:

Oh, and since I didn't donate at an organized event, it was up to me to send my donation in on my own- which was really a very simply process.  But of course, I procrastinated and it took me a few weeks.  Every time I opened the drawer where I had my ziplocked ponytail, I would get totally creeped out.  It's weird how the second hair isn't attached to your head anymore, it seems so gross.  I kept threatening David that I would hide my "hair creature" under his pillow or in his work bag.  Muahahaha. 

Anyway, that's my Rapunzel story.  My hair is growing crazy fast- probably about three inches already!  I still don't mind the shorter hair, but I AM really excited to get a few more inches, because I really miss the braids that I used to do.  I am actually thinking that I will probably grow it long and donate it one more time.  Why not, right?

Weekend Recap

This was the first weekend in a month that I haven't been out of town or had out of town guests, so I was really excited to have a low key weekend.  Houston even cooperated and delivered some incredible Spring-time weather! 

Friday:
I had the day off from work, and I had plans to visit the school where I used to teach.  I had been wanting to visit ever since we moved back, but for one reason or another, I just hadn't gotten around to it.  A friend of mine who also used to teach there and left at the same time that I did asked me if I wanted to go with her for a visit, so I finally took advantage of the opportunity.  We went at lunch time and hung out with some of our old students in the cafeteria and visited with some of the teachers in the staff lounge.  It was really good to be back and to see familiar faces, but it was also a sort of strange feeling.  It felt simultaneously like everything and nothing had changed.  The highlight though was definitely getting hugs from some of my previous (now so tall!) students! 



Two of my favorites- now FOURTH graders!!

After my school visit, I met up with the realtor that helped us sell our house.  That house is back on the market, and she had asked me if I wanted to go with her on a fake "showing" to check it out.  That was another bittersweet experience/blast from the past.  There is something very weird about walking through your old house and seeing someone else's stuff everywhere.  Although we never intended to stay in that house for more than a few years, it kills me that the house is on the market now and we are in a one bedroom corporate apartment that seems to get smaller by the day.  Oh, and did I mention it's selling for nearly TWICE what we bought it for (don't get me started...).  Houston's real estate market totally blew in the short year and a half we were gone. 

Who put all this (super gaudy) furniture in my house? ;-)  I'm only a little bit sad it's not ours anymore...

We ended the night with fajitas and margaritas at one of our favorite Mexican food places. 

Saturday:
Saturday was a vey lazy, uneventful day. We slept super late and just did errands and chores around the apartment.  We had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Houston, Barnaby's, and were home by 9.  David passed out on the couch by ten at which time I grabbed the remote from his hand and immediately cued up my DVR list.  I spent the next couple hours drinking wine and catching up on Dancing With the Stars and some of my Oprah Winfrey Network shows.  Don't judge. 

Sun roof weather- finally!!!

Sunday:
My sister-in-law has been peer pressuring me to run a ten mile race in Austin with her on April 13.  I really really dislike running, but I told her I'd try to keep up a running regimen for a few weeks and see how it went before deciding if I thought I could even complete ten miles.  I started a couple weeks ago with 3 miles, then 4, then 5, and finally ran 6 miles last week.  So I told myself that if I could run seven miles on Sunday, then I would sign up.  When I woke up, I headed to Memorial Park since they have a nice 3 mile trail.  Seven miles was my goal.  I wish I was one of those people that could say "running clears my head" or that I was someone who gets that "I feel so great after I run" / runner's high thing.  Unfortunately, I'm not.  Running does not clear my head.  In fact, when I'm running, all I am thinking about is how much I want to stop running.  How productive and relaxing, right?  And when I'm finished, I don't have a runner's high- instead, I my knees hurt and I am grumpy.  How pleasant!  But all that aside, I met my seven mile goal and even went on to run 8! The reason I ended up with eight is because I was SO thirsty by that point, and I knew there was a drinking fountain at the end of the trail, and I figured I'd get there faster if I ran, so I just kept at it.  That was actually my fastest mile that morning :-)  There's a beer garden at the end of this race, so I'm anticipating that even though I will feel like collapsing, mile 10 will be my fastest :-)  At any rate, I am officially signed up for the race.  It's two weeks away- wish me luck! 

I hope everyone had a great weekend and a good week ahead!  Can you believe April is nearly here?!?!